Transparency International, a British-based anti-corruption lobby group, has listed two former Philippine presidents as among the world's most corrupt leaders. In its annual Global Corruption Report released on March 26, United Kingdom-based Transparency International stated that former Philippine presidents Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada were among the most corrupt world leaders over the past 20 years.
Mr Estrada was accused of plundering from $78 million to $80 million during his three-year presidency, placing him 10th on the list.
Other world leaders in the lobby group's list were Suharto of Indonesia ($15-$35 billion); Marcos ($6.78-$13.56 billion); Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now Congo, $6.78 billion); Sani Abacha of Nigeria ($2-$5 billion); Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia ($1 billion); Jean-Claude Duvalier of Haiti ($300-$800 million); Alberto Fujimori of Peru ($600 million); Pavlo Lazarenko of Ukraine ($114-$200 million); and Arnoldo Alemán of Nicaragua ($100 million).
The report charted the flow of plundered assets and recommended ways at curbing graft. It also cited unenforced corruption laws and a lack of transparency in political donations as helping to fuel corruption. Its findings corroborate previous studies that ranked the Philippines as among the most corrupt in global surveys.
The Global Corruption Report further ranked the Philippines as the world's 11th most corrupt nation and fourth most corrupt in Asia. The 2004 report placed an emphasis on political corruption, including regulation of political finance, political donations and repatriation of wealth looted from government coffers. The report cites chronic vote buying in the region as especially problematic.
In the Philippines an estimated 3 million people were offered some form of payment in the 2002 barangay (community-level) elections. Also drawing Transparency International's rebuke were similar instances in Thailand, where 30 per cent of household heads reported offers of money during the 1996 election.
Peter Eigen, Transparency International's chairman, said political corruption cripples nascent prosperity and stability in developing countries, and further damages the world economy.
“The abuse of political power for private gain deprives the most needy of vital public services, creating a level of despair that breeds conflict and violence. It also hits the pockets of taxpayers and shareholders worldwide. The problem must be tackled at the national and international level.
“The GCR 2004, with a special focus on political corruption is a call to action to bring integrity and accountability into governance, to stop bribery by multinational companies, and to curb the flow of stolen assets into secret bank accounts in the west," Mr Eigen said.
Mr Estrada, the former Philippine president, questioned the validity of the corruption allegations and the veracity of the report and added he may sue Transparency International.
“I did not take any money from the government coffers. The money came from the private sector," he said. Mr Estrada, ousted in a 2001 popular uprising, said the $78-million he allegedly embezzled could have been taken from the Jose Velarde account, which he added belongs to a business associate.
“This may be a smear campaign. Maybe this is their response to the video compact disc I have released showing my innocence," he remarked, further asking why alleged "massive graft" in the Macapagal-Arroyo or previous administrations were omitted.
“Strangely, TI is silent on the many scandals associated with the administration of my predecessors and successor involving huge government contracts," Mr Estrada said in a statement. He moreover said the report was timed to coincide with the election campaign of Fernando Poe Jr, the opposition's presidential contender and close personal friend.
